For nearly a decade now, Rachel Coleman has been bridging the worlds of the Deaf and hearing with the Silly Pizza Song. Now a Deaf couple in San Francisco are using actual pizza to do the same thing!

Read more about Melody and Russell Stein and their Mission District restaurant, Mozzeria in this recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Mozzeria employees use ASL to communicate

Deaf couple launch pizza place in the Mission

Paolo Lucchesi, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, January 5, 2012

As at most new and noteworthy restaurants in San Francisco’s Mission District, there’s a full house during the dinner rush at Mozzeria, a month-old Italian restaurant and pizzeria.

Every one of the 45 or so seats is full. There’s a slight hint of smoke in the air, thanks to the huge wood-fired oven in the middle of the narrow dining room. Music is playing, but the din is noticeably muted.

A waitress carrying two full plates meanders through the crowd, stopping short of a standing patron blocking her path. With both hands full, she can’t tap him on the shoulder. And before sidestepping and successfully swiveling by, she can’t ask him to move, because the diner is deaf. And so is she. Continue Reading »

Two Little Hands Productions, creators of the award-winning Signing Time series, released a new collection of Baby Signing Time products. The “Sign & Read” Collection, which includes a new parent guide, a set of new board books, updated DVDs, and flash cards, places an emphasis on early learning through parent-child interaction.

“Parents are their child’s first teachers, so we made sure this Baby Signing Time collection included a parent guide to early learning,” says Emilie Brown, co-creator of Signing Time and Baby Signing Time. “Every parent-child interaction can strengthen the relationship and feed a child’s growing mind. Reading together is an especially powerful way to connect and learn. That’s why we insisted on board books being included in the new collection. We’ve added new footage to the DVDs to highlight printed words.” Brown adds, “Our goal isn’t to get babies to read, but to experience how language works: a word can be spoken, signed, or printed, and they all share the same underlying meaning. This idea may seem simple to adults, but for young children, it’s a profound discovery.”

Click here for a preview of the commercial

The launch of the new collection is being supported by a national media campaign, which includes a 30-minute infomercial and radio ads. In addition, Signing Time Academy Instructors across North American and in many countries throughout the world have begun offering “Sign & Read” play classes to help parents nurture their child’s language, cognitive and social-emotional development through three key areas of communication: talking, reading and signing. Meet your local Signing Time Academy Instructor and sign up for a class today!

“We already know that signing allows hearing babies to communicate before they learn to talk – which goes a long way toward reducing frustration,” says Gwen Cox, Signing Time Academy Director. “Babies who can sign feel understood and secure – and happy babies are able to focus on learning. Our goal is to show parents how simple interactions like reading, signing or talking can add fun to their day, boost their child’s self-esteem, and nurture their child’s love of learning as well.”

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – November 18, 2010 – When the concept of using sign language with hearing babies was first introduced to the American public, critics dismissed it as a “parlor trick.” Since that time, infant signing has become an accepted parenting practice and has been integrated into early childhood education programs. In the recently-released second edition of “Heading Home with your Newborn: From Birth to Reality,” published by the American Academy of Pediatrics*, authors Laura Jana, MD, FAAP and Jennifer Shu, MD, FAAP comment on this phenomenon:

“Infant sign language really does deliver on its promise of improved communication…It’s easy to see why so many parents swear by it, and why childcare centers include it in their infant and toddler classrooms, and why it has become so commonplace as an activity of daily learning.” pp. 173-174

The popularity of baby sign language is no surprise. Parents who sign with their babies before they learn to talk see the immediate benefit: reduced frustration. Signing helps them know what their babies want, allowing them to respond to their needs quickly. It cuts down on the guesswork that is common to parenting a preverbal infant.

“Their hands give them a clear and powerful ‘voice’ – quite a contrast to the whining and pointing traditionally associated with toddlerhood,” said Rachel Coleman, co-creator and host of the popular series Baby Signing Time. “The truth is, that using ASL signs with hearing babies is revolutionizing early learning and parenting in America.” Continue Reading »

We are pleased to announce that Baby Signing Time Volume 1 – It’s Baby Signing Time has been selected for the 2010 DVD OF THE YEAR AWARD by Creative Child Magazine’s Baby & Maternity Awards Program, under the category of Educational DVDs for Babies. The Creative Child Magazine Awards Program is a unique awards program because all products are reviewed by moms and moms-to-be. We are honored and excited to be among the award recipients for 2010!

Why Learn Sign?

Baby Sign Language has been shown to enhance baby’s memory and reduce toddler’s frustrations. The Baby Signing Time product line uses amazing music and songs coupled with vibrant and fun animations and illustrations. By combining our Baby Signing Time Flash Cards and CDs with the DVDs parents see the best development results in their children! Why wait to communicate and build an amazing bond with your child today? Read on to see what other mothers say about their experience with Baby Signing Time.

Continue Reading »

By Derek Brown – AKA Alex’s dad, Leah’s Uncle

I chose to run a half marathon because I am in fantastic shape, I knew it would be easy, and I thought it would be a pleasurable experience.  Well, not really.  Actually, I chose to do it because my 11-year-old, Alex, decided to do it and asked me if I was up to doing it   with him.  What would you do?

Now, just a bit of friendly advice here:  if you are going to run a half marathon, there is the way to do it, and then, of course, there is the way not to do it.  Alex did it the way it is supposed to be done.  And I, of course, chose the road less traveled (pun intended).

Here is how Alex prepared:  He trained for several months with a kids’ running group.  He ran three days a week with them, starting with just a few miles a day, and later worked up to the point where he was running 6-8 miles in a day, several times a week.  He trained, conditioned, and even did the obligatory “carb-load” the day before the marathon.  He was fit, rested, and ready to go the morning of the marathon.

Now for my pre-marathon training schedule.  It consisted of energy performance drinks (Diet Coke), finger exercises (returning hundreds of e-mails daily), regular stretching exercises (standing up occasionally at my desk), and the lifting heavy objects (like stacks of paper on and off the desk.)

Actually, Alex and I did have one thing in common:  when the race was about to begin we both felt great!  We started running with Team Coleman/Strong Enough, and I lost track of Alex after the first mile or so.  I started to look behind me, scanning the crowd to see if I could spot Alex someplace in the mass of people immediately behind me.  Several of our Team Coleman/Strong Enough teammates asked me who I was looking for.  I replied, “I’ve lost Alex. I don’t see him.”  They all started laughing and said, “If you want to see him, why don’t you quit looking behind you!”  Apparently, Alex was way ahead of me within the first mile or so, and that never changed.

Alex, of course, has a kind heart, and at one point he waited for me to catch up to him and then we ran together for a while.  Within a short period of time he was way ahead of me again, but he then waited up for me.  After the third time doing this, he said “Dad, do you mind if I just kinda keep on going?”  (Translation:  “Dad, you are a major drag here.  How am I supposed to run a serious half-marathon when I’m pulling an out-of-shape lawyer behind me?  Seriously, man, be sure to hydrate, call a cab if you pass out, and I’ll see you at the finish line.  That is, if you make it.”)

That was about mile three.  From that point on, as I was jogging, I saw a lot of people along the route that I recognized.  They all shouted, almost word-for-word, the same thing:  “Good job!  Did you know that Alex is waaaaaay up there ahead of you?  Did you know that?  Like, waaaaaaay ahead of you!”  My response was always “Yeah, isn’t he amazing?”  (Translation:  “Man, you’re slow.  Your 11-year-old son is completely dusting you.  Seriously, pick up the pace.”  Translation of my response:  “Thanks for telling me something I didn’t already know.  Wow, I feel so much better now.  Except that my ankles are still screaming at me, my knees are still pounding, and I would give anything if I could just do something so much more enjoyable, like have a cavity filled or get a root canal.”)

When I hobbled across the finish line, Alex was there waiting to greet me, with a big smile on his face.  “Good job, Dad!” he said.  In the end, he finished about ten minutes ahead of me, and got a bronze medal for his age group.    It was so rewarding, however, to see so many Signing Time fans and friends at the finish line.  Leah looked fantastic, Lucy had just been on her first half-marathon, and Rachel and Aaron looked like they had just warmed up and were ready for a real run.  Alex then proceeded to spend the rest of his day playing with Leah, running around, and doing what kids do (as I tried to recover on the sofa).

The next morning as I got out of bed, my ankles and knees refused to work, and notwithstanding my Advil, I could hardly walk straight.  And stairs?  Forget about it.  There was no going up or down stairs.  For the next few days I walked as though I had just added about 50 years onto my body.  Seeing my condition, Alex assured me that he, too, was sore.  (I didn’t buy it, of course.)  In the end, it took several days for people to stop asking “Hey, what happened?  Why are you walking funny?”

So, the real question:  would I be crazy enough to do it all over again?  Absolutely!  (Next time, however, I will follow Alex’s training schedule to prepare.)